My Girlfriend, Regina
by giftofamber
Summary: Emma brings Regina home to meet Henry, who still has his fake memories. Trying to be helpful, Emma comes up with the perfect way to give Regina plenty of time around Henry: by being her girlfriend. Ficlet for SwanQueenWeek
1. Chapter 1

Standing outside the door to the loft, Emma glanced back at Regina, who looked like a nervous wreck. She reached out to hold Regina's hand and said, "I know this is going to be hard, with Henry not remembering, but I'm here with you. You'll be ok. I promise."

Regina tried to smile. After all, she hadn't seen her son in over a year, and she'd honestly thought she'd never see him again, and she'd made her peace with that, but now things were different. Now, she had a chance to be near him, even if he didn't recognize her, and she was terrified it wouldn't go well.

"Henry, this is my…" Emma fished for a reason for Regina to spend a lot of time with Henry and not look creepy, "...girlfriend, Regina."

Regina tried not to appear flustered. Girlfriend? Emma hadn't mentioned that as part of her plan. It would give her an excuse to spend time with Henry, but would anyone believe it? She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.

"You have a girlfriend?" Henry blurted out at Emma. "Ma, you could have told me. I'm not prejudiced."

"I know that," Emma responded nervously. She bent down to Henry's level, "It's just, she's' important to me, and I want her to be important to you too. Do you think you can give her a chance for my sake?"

"Are you marrying her?" Henry asked. "It's legal in Maine now."

Emma blanched, "Henry, let's not get ahead of ourselves. You know me and commitment."

Regina found her voice, "So, you're Henry. I've heard so much about you. Do you still like comic books?"

Henry looked at her, as if sizing her up, trying to determine if she was honestly interested in him as a person or just as a way to get close to Emma. He inquired, "Who is your favorite comic book character?"

"I was always drawn to the villains like Black Widow or Mystique. I'm a sucker for a great backstory. How about you?"

"Quicksilver. Did you see the new X-Men movie yet?" Henry asked, happy with her response. She hadn't gone with one of the obvious answers like Batman or Wonder Woman, and he liked that. It meant she actually enjoyed the genre and wasn't just pretending for his sake.

"Well, your mom was going to take me, but she said she had to take her son first. Something about him being the most important thing in her life," Regina confided in a conspiratorial tone.

"Emma took me to the red carpet premiere before we left New York. I got to meet Wolverine! It was so cool. We should all go see X-Men this weekend. Ma, can we?" He looked up at Emma for approval.

Emma smiled, "I think that's a great idea. Maybe Mary Margaret and David would like to come too."

"Yes! Hey, Regina, did you know the girl who plays Kitty Pryde is a lesbian? The clothes she wears look just like the ones Ma does, so I should have realized it sooner, you know, that Ma likes girls," Henry prattled on to his new friend.

"Well, your mom is a very private person, and she just figured it out about herself not too long ago," Regina grinned, like about 5 minutes ago when Emma 'came out' to Henry for the both of them.

"Is Ma the first girl you dated? Don't you get a toaster or something for making Ma a lesbian? I saw that on TV once," Henry continued his battery of questions.

Emma wondered when Henry had suddenly become a font of information about lesbians. She butted in, "Henry, that's not a very polite question to ask."

Regina purred, "It's ok, sweetie. He's just curious. Although I'm looking at the time, and I think I should get going so you can talk to him before bedtime, and maybe answer some of these burning questions."

"You're probably right," Emma said, walking Regina to the door. They both stood there awkwardly for a few moments, not sure what to say.

"Thank you for tonight. It meant a lot to me, getting to see-meet-Henry," Regina bumbled, momentarily forgetting their ruse.

"I'm glad it worked out," Emma said, putting her thumbs in her back pockets.

Regina leaned in and whispered in Emma's ear, "I believe this is the point where you kiss your girlfriend goodnight and scar our son for life."

"Well, if you're….well, ok," Emma stuttered. She took a deep breath and lightly pressed their lips together. The softness was perfect and tantalizing, and if her son hadn't been over in the other room, she would have been tempted to take it further. Instead, she simply said, "Good night, Regina."

"Good night, Emma," Regina answered before leaving the small loft. Once outside, she gently pressed her fingers to her lips, remembering what Emma felt like and smiled the whole way home.


	2. Chapter 2

After turning out the light, Regina set the alarm on her cell phone and stared at it for a moment. On impulse, she opened a new text message and typed a brief text to Emma.

-Hi.

-_Hey._

-I wanted to thank you.

-_-No problem. Just think of it as me repaying you for the last year in NY._

-Still.

-_I hope I didn't offend you. It just came to me on the spot._

-Why would I be offended?

-_I don't know._

-I would do anything to have Henry back in my life.

-_Right. For Henry._

-Fishing for compliments, Ms. Swan?

-_Me? Never. So..for Henry, I should like, know some stuff about you. In case it comes up._

-Such as?

-_I dunno. Birthday, siblings, pets, favorite color?_

-Feb 1st, no siblings, no pets, black. You?

-_Oct 22nd I think, Henry thinks I have no siblings, no pets, red I guess. Fav food?_

-Anything with apples. Salads. Lasagna.

-_Wow, something that isn't rabbit food. Burgers and grilled cheese._

-I should go to bed. See you on our date. ;)

-_What does that mean?_

-Huh?

-_Never mind. Have a good night, Regina._

Waiting a moment to make sure her phone didn't beep again, Regina put it down and laid in bed. From the moment her head hit the pillow, she slept and had completely 100% platonic dreams of Emma Swan (ok, mostly platonic).

The weekend arrived quickly although it seemed like an eternity to Regina. She was a nervous wreck. She had missed out on a whole year of her son's life, and at the moment her only connection to him was through the fake relationship she had with Emma Swan. The only problem was she had absolutely no idea what lesbians (Henry's word, not hers) wore, how they acted, and seeing as how her son seemed to be an expert, she was worried she would do the wrong thing and he would see right through them.

The internet hadn't been helpful either. When she typed 'lesbians' into a search engine, all she got was a bunch of naked women kissing. The women's bodies were clearly altered by plastic surgery, and the women didn't even look like they were enjoying themselves, which was ridiculous because kissing Emma had been an experience outside of her wildest dreams. A search for 'Ellen Page' had turned up suits and ties, beanies, jean jackets, and zebra-striped t-shirts-none of which even came close to anything in Regina's closet. Frustrated, Regina decided she should just be herself and trust Emma to make it seem real because she knew the outside world better than Regina did.

Sure enough, when Emma arrived to pick her up, Emma wore a pale blue suit and tie combo that accentuated her skin tone and caused Regina's breath to catch in her throat momentarily. Regina allowed herself to be led outside, rolling her eyes when Emma opened the door to the bug and said 'Your carriage awaits.' She got in the car anyway, against her better judgement, seeing as how the car looked like it was moments away from being towed to a junkyard, but 'Emma's girlfriend' wouldn't care about her car choice, so neither would Regina.

Henry prattled on the whole car ride, ecstatic to have someone besides Emma with whom to talk. Most of the time, he spoke of the history of the X-men and X-men trivia. His conversations eventually expanded to include living in New York versus Storybrooke and how friendly everyone was in Storybrooke. Regina mostly nodded and made listening noises at the appropriate times because she was just so excited to be hearing his voice.

Mary Margaret and David met them at the movie theater, and everything seemed to be perfect on their not-date date until Mary Margaret overheard Emma referring to Regina as 'sweetheart' while getting popcorn.

"Emma, can I talk to you, privately?" Mary Margaret asked, not wanting to start anything in public, but also having trouble shutting down her curiosity.

Completely oblivious, Emma smiled back, "Anything you have to say you can say in front of Regina. We're all family."

Mary Margaret agreed, "Yes, we are all _family_. Are the two of you...are you dating Regina?"

Hands clutching a root beer like his life depended on it, Henry piped up, "Ma, you didn't tell your friend either?"

"Well, it all kind of happened so fast," Emma tried to explain. "I wasn't expecting it, and then bam, she was there, the light of my life."

Regina moved next to her, linking arms, "It was all very romantic. It was my first trip to New York, and your mom here saved me from a mugger. My white knight."

"But you don't even like women," Mary Margaret blanched at Emma's news. Looking at Henry, she modified her statement, "In prison. I never saw you with any women."

Worrying that her charade would be exposed-and not at all because the woman next to her was incredibly attractive, Emma ignored the nerves in her stomach and kissed Regina gently until Henry began to object. Both of their faces were flushed, and Emma looked back to Mary Margaret, "Satisfied?"

"Emma, this is a joke, right?" Mary Margaret asked. "Not that there would be anything wrong with you dating a woman, but her?"

Regina condescended, "_She_ is right here, and I wouldn't expect your small minds to comprehend something as basic as love. Emma, Henry, and I are going to see a movie, and if you can handle this without making idiotic comments, you are still welcome to see it with us. For her sake."

Rubbing the small of Regina's back, Emma murmured softly, "Hey, my little fireball, it's ok. She's just in shock. She doesn't mean it."

"She did mean it," Regina glared.

"Even if she did, it wouldn't change anything," Emma insisted, her tone low and soothing. "I'm here with you and Henry because I want to be."

"Why do you care who my ma dates? It doesn't affect you," Henry said bluntly.

Remembering that Henry had no idea she was his grandmother, Mary Margaret stuttered, "I...I don't. I was just surprised."

Emma smiled, "See, crisis averted. Let's go watch a movie."

As Henry physically dragged Emma and Regina to their seats, Mary Margaret and David walked awkwardly behind them. Henry pointed, "Regina, you sit there, Ma is next to you, and then I'm on the other side of Ma."

"Hey, kid, don't I get any say in this?" Emma teased. She was perfectly happy with his seating arrangement, but felt the need to rib him anyway.

Henry looked at his mom like she had grown a third head, "Ma, just sit and enjoy the movie."

The group of five sat down together, and Emma reached over and held Regina's hand, while whispering in her ear, "See, they believe us, and you are spending quality time with Henry. It's a win right?"

Regina nodded, her heart sinking in her chest. It was the perfect ruse...so why did she wish it were real?


	3. Chapter 3

Emma and Regina's next 'date' was to take Henry to the science center. If Henry wondered why his mothers seemed to take him on all their 'dates', he hadn't broached the subject, and Emma wasn't going to bring it up. Emma watched happily as Henry ran from exhibit to exhibit and Regina showed him how they worked and the science behind it. He was especially entranced by the robotics exhibit that had original replicas of R2-D2, Terminator, and C-3PO and other robots that had been used in movies.

"Ma, look at this! You can get your picture taken with your favorite robot! Can we? Please?" Henry squealed enthusiastically.

Emma teased gently, "Kid, aren't you a little old to be this excited?"

"There's nothing wrong with a healthy interest in scholastic pursuits," Regina raised an eyebrow, finding it amusing that she was given the opportunity to be the 'fun' mom for once.

"Yeah, Ma, what she said. Please?" Henry asked again, employing the puppy eyes that were often effective in helping him get his way.

Emma laughed, "I can see I'm outnumbered. Ok, let's see how this thing works."

They played around with the machine and got several pictures with the robot backgrounds: one with Henry and Regina, one with Henry and Emma, and one with all three of them.

"What do you say?" Regina prompted.

"Thank you, Ma! Thank you, Regina," Henry smiled. "You guys are the best!"

Emma rolled her eyes, "I'll remember that when you don't want to go to bed tonight. What's next? I think we have just enough time to visit the railroads before the planetarium show."

Henry nodded before taking off again. Instead of following, Regina stayed back and put her hand on Emma's shoulder, "He's getting so big, so fast."

"Grows like a weed. It's like every few months, he needs a new set of jeans because he outgrew the old ones," Emma said wistfully.

"What's he going to say when he finds out we've been lying to him?" Regina worried out loud.

Emma answered, as reassuringly as she could, "We'll figure that out when it happens."

Regina continued, "I don't want him to turn against me, not again. He's a smart boy; maybe he could handle the truth?"

"The truth? Gee, Henry, your entire life as you think you've lived it is a lie. Your mom gave you fake memories so you wouldn't worry about her when she was enveloped by an evil curse. That'll go over real well," Emma said sarcastically, not realizing that Henry had doubled back and heard everything.

"Ma, is that true?" Henry stared at Emma in confusion, mixed with hurt.

"Henry, I…" Emma was stricken. There were a hundred ways she had thought of telling him the truth, and this certainly wasn't it.

Regina knelt down to Henry's level, "Let us explain. Please." At Henry's nod, she continued, "What I'm about to tell you is going to be hard to understand. I had to give your ma a potion before she got her memories back, and well, we just didn't have enough for a second potion, so we were biding our time while we could make more. Storybrooke is a special place. You grew up here, not in New York. You, me, and your ma were all in danger, and as much as I wanted to go with you both, I made a choice for your safety."

Henry asked, "Are you my mother?"

Regina nodded, "And so is Emma. She took you to New York to keep you safe, knowing that I would come get you when and if the danger had passed."

"How long were we really in New York?" Henry struggled to understand why his mother had lied.

"A year. The longest year of my life, even if you did used to call me the 'Evil Queen'," Regina smirked, attempting a bit of humor.

Henry had one final question, "When do I get my real memories back?"

Emma answered for her, "Hopefully in a few weeks. We wanted to tell you the truth, but we weren't sure you'd believe us, and it was only a few more weeks until you could take the potion and remember for yourself."

Henry turned and headed silently toward the car. He was upset they had lied, but he knew they had thought they were doing the right thing. He needed time to think. Would they have said anything if he hadn't overheard them talking?

Emma looked heartbroken at Regina and held her hand as they joined their son at the car. They drove in relative silence with Emma trying to lighten the mood with bad jokes and Regina wringing her hands out from anxiety. By dinner, the two women had managed to get Henry to quit the silent treatment, and by bedtime, he had requested that the three share mugs of hot cocoa with cinnamon.

When the two women were finally alone, Regina started, "You know we don't have to pretend anymore."

"Pretend what?"

"To be a couple."

Emma confessed, "Regina, I…I have had feelings for you for a while. You're the mother of my son. You challenge me, make me a better person, and have I mentioned you are an amazing cook?"

"So does that mean?"

"It means that at least on my end, the charade was real, or I want it to be real. Do you want it to be real? Are you just going to leave me hanging with my heart on my sleeve?" Emma babbled until she felt Regina's lips on her own, delicious and soft with a hint of cinnamon from the hot cocoa they had shared earlier. Not daring to let go, Emma enveloped Regina in her arms, holding her impossibly close as her heart raced and her breathing turned shallow. She let out a whimper as she felt Regina's hand over her heart and travel down to cup her breast.

Moving to kiss the corner of Emma's mouth, Regina whispered, "Emma Swan, I heart you."

"Stay with me tonight? I make a mean set of pancakes," Emma grinned, gazing into Regina's eyes.

Regina smiled back, "With the queen of one night stands? I'm onto you, princess."

"My heart, you wound me," Emma clutched her own heart with a twinkle in her eyes. "Regina, you could never be a one night stand for me. My Queen, it would take a million lifetimes for me to tire of your precious lips."

"In that case, perhaps we should get started," Regina dragged Emma to the bedroom by her belt, shutting and locking the door behind them before falling into strong arms once more.


End file.
